KR20080040848A - Method and apparatus for changing input mode in portable communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for changing an input mode of a portable terminal and a device therefor are provided to change an operational mode of a touch sensor if an abnormal input of the touch sensor is decided on, thereby preventing wrong operation of the terminal caused by input of the touch sensor, which occurs regardless of a user's request. A touch sensor(108) performs operation corresponding to touch by sensing the touch. A controller(100) decides whether input is an abnormal input by sensing the input of the touch sensor, and if it is decided that the input is the abnormal input, the controller changes the current mode into the first mode for inactivating operation of the touch sensor. If input of a predetermined particular key is sensed by a user in the first mode, the controller changes the inactivated touch sensor into an activated state. A communication unit(110) process the transceiving of a wireless signal of data inputted or outputted through an antenna, and a display unit(106) displays state information, characters, still images or moving images.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHANGING INPUT MODE IN PORTABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM}

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable terminal capable of changing an operation mode of a touch sensor according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for stopping an operation of a touch sensor when an abnormal touch sensor is input in a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a touch sensor, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for preventing a malfunction of the portable terminal by stopping the operation of the touch sensor when an abnormally input of a touch sensor occurs continuously.

Recently, due to the convenience of the portable terminal, the use of the portable terminal is rapidly spreading. Accordingly, service providers (terminal manufacturers) are competitively developing the portable terminal with a more convenient function to secure a large number of users.

For example, the portable terminal may include a phone book, a game, a scheduler, a short message service, a multimedia message service, a cell broadcasting service. , Internet service, e-mail, morning call, MP 3 (MPEG Layer 3), digital camera (Digital camera) and other functions are provided.

In addition, a touch screen type portable terminal for inputting data using a user's hand or a stylus pen has been developed, so that text can be easily written or drawn on the portable terminal using the stylus pen.

The portable terminal may receive data by selecting a specific menu displayed on the display unit or writing a character directly through the stylus pen.

In other words, by using the stylus pen to directly write letters when inputting characters, the user can easily input the characters to the portable terminal.

However, when the portable terminal detects an abnormal touch for a long time in a state where the touch pad is exposed by sensing a touch of the user's hand or a stylus pen and receiving data, the portable terminal may be configured according to the touch. It may cause an error on the operation.

Therefore, when detecting an abnormal touch input of the portable terminal and detecting the abnormal touch input, a method and apparatus for preventing an error of the portable terminal by limiting the operation of the touch pad (detecting an input of a touch sensor) Required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for stopping an operation of a touch sensor by checking an abnormal touch input in a portable terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for determining an abnormal touch input when a portable terminal detects an input of a touch sensor having a threshold or more for a predetermined time.

According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the input method using a touch sensor of a portable terminal, the process of increasing the number of touch sensor input, when the touch sensor input is detected, If the threshold value or more, characterized in that it comprises the step of changing to one mode to deactivate the operation of the touch sensor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, an input device using a touch sensor is a touch sensor to sense a touch to perform an operation corresponding to the touch, by sensing the input of the touch sensor And determining whether the input is an abnormal input, and when determining that the input is an abnormal input, changing the mode to one mode for deactivating the operation of the touch sensor.

Hereinafter, the operating principle of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that the detailed description of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may be changed according to the intention or custom of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

In the following description, when a portable terminal having a touch sensor detects an abnormal touch sensor input, an operation of sensing the input of the touch sensor by continuously changing an operation mode of the touch sensor by controlling an operation mode of the touch sensor. It will be described with respect to a method and apparatus for stopping.

In addition, the operation mode of the touch sensor refers to one mode and two modes. The first mode is a mode for deactivating the input of the touch sensor when detecting a touch of a touch sensor that is greater than or equal to a threshold for a predetermined time. The first mode is a mode for releasing by inputting a specific key. Although the mode is to deactivate the input, it refers to a mode that can prevent the input of the touch sensor by another by inputting a preset password when the mode is released.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable terminal according to the present invention. Herein, the portable terminal may be a cellular phone, a personal communication system (PCS), a personal data assistant (PDA), an international mobile telecommunication-2000 (IMT-2000), a fourth generation. It is meant to include both a mobile communication terminal such as a broadband system and a portable device having a touch sensor, and the following description will be given with the configuration of the mobile communication terminal.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal may include a control unit 100, a memory unit 102, an input unit 104, a display unit 106, a touch sensor 108, and a communication unit 110.

The controller (MPU: Micro-Processer Unit) 100 controls the overall operation of the portable terminal. For example, when performing processing and control for voice call and data communication, and detecting the input of the touch sensor 108 in accordance with the present invention in addition to the usual functions, the touch sensor 108 input by the user is Determine if the input is abnormal.

When it is determined that the input of the touch sensor 108 by the user is an abnormal input, the controller 100 changes the operation mode of the touch sensor 108.

In addition, when the controller 100 determines that the operation mode of the touch sensor 108 is changed by a number of times or more than a threshold value, the controller 100 changes the operation mode of the touch sensor 108 to two modes.

The memory unit 102 includes a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and a flash ROM. The ROM stores microcode and various reference data of a program for processing and controlling the controller 100.

The RAM is a working memory of the controller 100 and stores temporary data generated during execution of various programs. In addition, the flash ROM stores various updatable storage data such as a phone book, an outgoing message, and an incoming message.

The input unit 104 includes 0 to 9 numeric key buttons, a menu button (menu), a cancel button (clear), an OK button, a call button (TALK), an end button (END), an internet access button, a navigation key ( Or a plurality of function keys such as arrow keys) buttons and character input keys, and provides key input data corresponding to a key pressed by the user to the controller 100.

The display unit 106 displays status information generated during operation of the portable terminal, a limited number of characters, a large amount of moving images and still images, and the like. The display unit 106 may use a color liquid crystal display (LCD).

The touch sensor 108 may provide a plurality of function keys as in the input unit 104, and performs a function of recognizing a simple touch operation. In particular, according to the present invention, the user's input is detected and provided to the controller 100.

The communication unit 110 performs a function of transmitting and receiving a radio signal of data input and output through an antenna (not shown). For example, in the case of transmission, after performing channel coding and spreading on the data to be transmitted, RF processing is performed to transmit the data. In the case of reception, the received RF signal is converted into a baseband signal. The baseband signal is de-spreaded and channel decoded to restore data.

Although the controller 100 controls the operation of the touch sensor 108 in the portable terminal, a separate device for controlling the operation of the touch sensor 108 is provided separately from the controller 100 so that the touch sensor 108 is controlled. ) Can also be controlled.

In the following description, a method for changing an operation mode of the touch sensor when the abnormal touch sensor input is determined by the number of touch sensor inputs by the user according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for stopping an operation of a touch sensor when an abnormal touch sensor is input in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller 100 first checks whether an input of the touch sensor 108 by a user is detected in step 201. If the input of the touch sensor 108 is not sensed, the controller 100 proceeds to step 219 to perform a corresponding function (eg, standby mode).

On the other hand, when detecting the input of the touch sensor 108, the control unit 100 proceeds to step 203 to increase the number of times of input of the touch sensor 108.

In operation 205, the controller 100 checks whether the timer is completed. Here, the timer refers to a timer (for example, 1 sec, 3 sec, etc.) set to confirm the number of inputs of the touch sensor 108 detected for a predetermined time.

If it is not confirmed that the timer completes the operation, the controller 100 repeats the process of step 201.

On the other hand, when confirming the completion of the operation of the timer, the control unit 100 proceeds to step 207 to check the cumulative input number of the touch sensor 108, and proceeds to step 209 the cumulative input number is a predetermined threshold or more. Check if it is.

For example, assuming that the timer is set to 1 second and the predetermined threshold value is set to 10, the controller 100 checks whether the input of the touch sensor 108 is detected 10 times or more during 1 second. The process of doing that. If the cumulative input number is less than or equal to a threshold, the controller 100 ends the present algorithm.

On the other hand, if the cumulative input number is greater than or equal to the threshold, the controller 100 proceeds to step 211 to change the operation mode of the touch sensor 108 to one mode, and then proceeds to step 213 to increase the number of one mode changes by one. Let's do it. In this case, when the first mode senses an input of the touch sensor 108 that is greater than or equal to a threshold value for a predetermined time, it is determined that the input is an abnormal touch sensor 108 to deactivate the operation of the touch sensor 108, thereby causing an abnormal touch. It refers to a mode for preventing the input of the sensor 108.

In addition, after changing the operation mode of the touch sensor 108 to one mode, the user must input a specific key (for example, an OK button or an OK button) to release the first mode.

In operation 215, the controller 100 determines whether the accumulated number of 1 mode changes is greater than or equal to a threshold. If the accumulated one-mode change count is less than or equal to a threshold, the controller 100 ends the present algorithm.

On the other hand, if the accumulated number of one mode changes is greater than or equal to a threshold, the controller 100 proceeds to step 217 to change the operation mode of the touch sensor 108 to two modes.

Here, the second mode is a mode for preventing an abnormal error of the touch sensor 108 from occurring continuously in the same manner as the first mode, but in order to cancel the two modes, a predetermined password must be input. The abnormal touch sensor 108 may be prevented from being input by another person.

Thereafter, the controller 100 ends the present algorithm.

The above-described method is a description of a method for changing the input mode of the portable terminal (method for controlling the operation of the touch sensor) when the input of the touch sensor is detected for a predetermined time. In a particular menu (eg, game, message composition, etc.) that can be input, the function for changing the input mode of the portable terminal may be deactivated.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described above, when determining the abnormal touch sensor input by the user's touch sensor input number according to the present invention, by changing the operation mode of the touch sensor, to the input of the touch sensor generated irrespective of the user's request The malfunction of the portable terminal can be prevented.

Claims (12)

In the input method using the touch sensor of the portable terminal, Increasing the number of touch sensor inputs when detecting a touch sensor input; And if the number of touch sensor inputs is equal to or greater than a threshold, changing the mode to one mode of inactivating the touch sensor. The method of claim 1, The touch sensor input number of times, The method of claim 1, wherein the cumulative input number of the touch sensor detected for a predetermined time. The method of claim 1, Increasing the number of mode switching in one mode after changing to the one mode; If the number of switching modes 1 is greater than or equal to a threshold, changing to the second mode. The method of claim 1, And after detecting the predetermined key input after the change to the first mode, changing the deactivated touch sensor to an activated state. The method of claim 3, wherein And after detecting the input of a predetermined password after changing to the two modes, changing the deactivated touch sensor to an activated state. The method of claim 5, The two modes, Method for preventing the continuous occurrence of abnormal error of the touch sensor by another person. In the input device using a touch sensor, A touch sensor to sense a touch and perform an operation corresponding to the touch; And a controller configured to detect an input of the touch sensor to determine whether the input is an abnormal input, and to change the operation of the touch sensor to one mode when determining that the input is an abnormal input. The method of claim 7, wherein The control unit, If the input of the touch sensor detected for a predetermined time is more than the threshold value, it is determined that the input of the abnormal touch sensor. The method of claim 8, The control unit, And after the change to the first mode, increases the number of switching modes in one mode and changes the operation mode of the touch sensor to two modes when the number of switching in one mode is greater than or equal to a threshold. The method of claim 9, The control unit, And detecting the input of a predetermined key by the user in the first mode, changing the touch sensor of the inactive state to an active state. The method of claim 10, The control unit, And detecting the input of a predetermined password by the user in the two modes, changing the inactive touch sensor to an active state. The method of claim 11, The two modes, Device for preventing the continuous occurrence of abnormal error of the touch sensor by another person.

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